The salaries of California's state lawmakers and constitutional officers weren’t exempt from years of state budget cuts. But some of those cuts were restored Wednesday when a state commission voted to give lawmakers a pay raise.

The mayors of California’s largest cities met with Governor Jerry Brown today. They talked about a host of issues including prison realignment, high speed rail and the governor’s proposed Delta water project.

Actor James Gandolfini, 51, has reportedly died. Variety magazine reports that he suffered a "sudden stroke." The former star of the HBO series The Sopranos was reportedly in Italy when he died. HBO has confirmed the actor's death, CNN reports.

Hollywood’s version of the zombie apocalypse invades theaters this weekend with Brad Pitt and “World War Z” (opening June 21 throughout San Diego). But the film uses little more than the title of Max Brooks’ best-selling novel.

Two men in upstate New York have been arrested for planning to build a "radiation particle weapon" that could be mounted on a vehicle and used to target people, according to a report by the Albany Times-Union Wednesday. The men allegedly planned to sell the device to either the Ku Klux Klan or Jewish groups.

A 7-foot-tall statue of famed, lion-maned abolitionist Frederick Douglass that was dedicated Wednesday on Capitol Hill is perhaps best understood as a bronze symbol of the partisan divide in Washington and of racial politics.

Edward Snowden, the man commonly called "the NSA leaker" for his role in publishing documents that exposed a secret U.S. surveillance program, would reportedly not receive special treatment from the United Nations if he applies for asylum. The AP says Snowden is in "informal talks" with Iceland about applying for asylum there.

At the Pine Ridge Reservation just outside the town of Whiteclay, Neb., an upside-down American flag flies on a wooden pole next to a teepee. About 60 people gathered here Monday to protest as beer truck drivers unloaded cases into a Whiteclay liquor store a few hundred yards away.

Across the New York region, people are still working to rebuild homes and businesses after the havoc wrought by Hurricane Sandy. But the storm also devastated the dunes and native flora of New York's beaches.

With the Supreme Court expected to hand down big decisions this month -- including rulings on voting rights, affirmative action and same-sex marriage -- we've been talking a lot behind the scenes about how the court works. So we asked you what you really wanted to know and then got answers from NPR's Supreme Court reporter extraordinaire, Nina Totenberg.

Last year, more U.S. service members took their own lives than died in combat. And despite the drawdown of troops from Afghanistan, the pullout in Iraq, and hundreds of new programs designed to help troubled servicemen and women, the number of suicides continues to rise.

The Federal Reserve will continue its program of purchasing $85 billion in securities and will leave the target interest rate for federal funds untouched to support the U.S. economy, the U.S. central bank said in a policy update issued Wednesday afternoon.

The group behind the 2015 Balboa Park Centennial said the yearlong celebration will be anchored around four major shows in the hopes of drawing international attention to San Diego. The centennial celebrates the 1915 Panama-California Exposition.

The revelations about secret National Security Agency programs, leaked by Edward Snowden earlier this month, have stirred great controversy, but this type of surveillance is not entirely new, according to journalist Shane Harris.

Marine veteran Alex Minsky went through boot camp at MCRD San Diego and received further training at Camp Pendleton, before being deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. He lost a leg and suffered major brain injuries in an IED blast. But now, Minsky is making headlines as a top underwear model.

Four U.S. service members were killed Tuesday by indirect fire, possibly by a rocket, near Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. The deaths occurred the same day NATO officially handed responsibility for the country's security over to the Afghan army.

Journalist Jeremy Scahill wrote the bestseller "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army." Now his book "Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield," opening June 21 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas, hits theaters as a documentary feature.

A report rating 1,200 teacher preparation programs across the country gave only four California programs high marks. UC San Diego was among those standouts. But many are criticizing the report’s methods.

If the US Airways-American Airlines merger announced earlier this year is approved, the combined airline would control two-thirds of the takeoff and landing slots at Reagan National Airport, outside Washington, D.C.